The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has achieved a 79 percent accomplishment rate of its 2021 target as of November, still on track of its mandate in the National Housing and Urban Development Sector Plan (NHUDSP).
But Mylene Rivera, DHSUD spokesperson, said in a forum based on a 2017 study that projected 6.5 million housing units and assuming a 1.2 million to 1.3 million units since then, the country still needs five million homes.
Rivera admitted key shelter agencies (KSAs) face challenges in meeting the targets set under NHUDSP, citing budget constraints and the pandemic.
“Considering our budget is limited especially during the pandemic when the priority of the government is on health as well as the Build Build Build and education, we need big investments to address the five-million (housing backlog),” she said.
Rivera added the quarantines imposed due to the new coronavirus disease 2019 have restricted the movement of labor and construction materials that slowed the production of housing units.
Another challenge cited by Rivera is the difficulty in securing land which had made it difficult for KSAs to build subdivisions.
“There are still a lot of lands that are untitled or are subject to multiple claims,” she said.
Rivera said DHSUD Secretary Eduardo del Rosario highlighted the need to deliver quality housing projects beyond his term.
She said Del Rosario instructed KSA to finish by the end of the year projects, especially calamity housing, started by the previous and the current administration.
Citing a report of the National Housing Authority, which is mandated to implement resettlement, 70 percent of the 500,000-unit target had been completed and awarded and 30 percent are in various stages of completion. – Irma Isip
